Rezwan Shahriar Sumit: I was amazed by the resilience of the fishermen

The plot of Nona Joler Kabbo, directed by Rezwan Shahriar Sumit, revolves around a sculptor named Rudra, who visits a small village in a coastal region of Bangladesh during the monsoon season. The village is populated by a small community who rely on catching hilsa from the Bay of Bengal to make a living. The community is led by their elders who are religious fanatics, and often make judgements based on myths and superstitions. 

 After Rudra's arrival, the community initially shows enthusiasm and interest in his art. However, the village chairman believes the drought of hilsa was related to Rudra's sculptures and claimed that God is punishing them for allowing Rudra to practise in the village.

 Despite Rudra's many attempts at explaining how this was just a fallacy, the villagers remained unconvinced.

 Nona Joler Kabbo, along with the film Lal Moroger Jhuti, was awarded with the Best Film at National Film Award 2021 in January of this year. Sumit was also honoured with the Best Director Award for his film. 

 The film stars Fazlur Rahman Babu, Shatabdi Wadud, Titas Zia and Tasnuva Tamanna in leading roles. The original score was directed by Arnob. It was released in Bangladesh on 26 November 2021, after being screened at various international film festivals for almost a year. 

 "In my film, some of the fishermen cave under Chairman's pressure, and the situation takes a violent turn. However, the fishermen by no means are the bad guys. Rather, they are rather the innocent centre. Rudro serves as a catalyst for their transformation," explained Sumit.

 "It would take a lot of courage for one to step out of his comfort zone and venture into a secluded spot to practise sculpting. At the same time, I do not think villagers would harm an artist without provocation either. It is the absence of dialogue between these two groups that leads to the conflict," he added.

 The idea for this story came to Sumit over a decade ago. He and his friends went on a trip to Kuakata in 2008. Sumit is fond of photography and decided to venture out with his camera one afternoon. He wandered off to Gangamatir Char, where he witnessed the struggles of fishermen first hand. From this experience, Sumit wanted to share their stories with the world.

"I had heard about the devastating effects of a cyclone that hit Bangladesh in 2007, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality. I witnessed its destruction and the suffering it had caused. But I also saw hope. The fishermen were rebuilding their lives and were already returning to the sea to catch fish. I was amazed by their resilience."

 Sumit developed a love for cinema during his time as a student of Dhaka University. He visited the Faculty of Fine Art, where Tanveer Mokammel, a famous Bangladeshi filmmaker, was conducting a short course. Sumit was amazed by the filmmaker and decided to later enrol in the class. He also enrolled into various other independent filmmaking courses and workshops throughout the years.

 Sumit took on a corporate job in 2012, following his graduation. But he did not find the peace of mind he was looking for. He later secured a scholarship from New York University where he studied under world-famous filmmakers. During his third year, he was assigned to make a feature-length film, which was Nona Joler Kabbo.

 The film was also purchased by HBO's streaming service HBO Max.

 "They originally bought the rights to screen it in Central and Eastern European countries. The movie has been available for streaming since last August. I used to watch HBO growing up; I watched a lot of movies there. I was amazed that they wanted a Bangla film for their platform."

Nona Joler Kabbo was also screened at various film festivals in London, Busan, Gutenberg, São Paulo, Turin, Seattle, Singapore, etc. It was further screened at the UN Climate Conference COP-26 in 2021. 

 "When I  returned to Gangamatir Char years later, all I found were some broken tree branches and the rising tide," said Sumit. "The sea level has risen dramatically in the last two to three years. The high tide is eroding the land, and cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc. The families were forced to relocate to nearby villages. Many had to find different professions due to the erratic weather." 

 Sumit is presently shooting a feature documentary titled 'Tufan Aitasey', in the same region.